Was it just me, or was New Vegas just a bit lacking when it came to the main story?

I mean, sure, I enjoyed learning about the Courier, House's plans, the factions, all that stuff, but when I actually got to New Vegas, I expected something more dramatic then what was given. New Vegas itself didn't exactly have a climactic kind of entrance, you just walk through the front door, and you're essentially ushered in to House's casino, and every single thing is told to you. Benny high tails it too, and you're left talking to his robot for a half an hour, where, again, everything is explained to you. It was all kind of... anticlimactic for me. There's no big reveals or any real sense of anticipation, it's more like you're discussing all this over lunch.

Believe me, I'm not trying to say this is a bad game, certainly not, I just want to know the opinions of other FJers on this. It just feels like a bump in a road; it's something new, it's noticable, and it exhilarates you a bit, but it's only for a split second before you're back on flat ground.

The only thing(s) that made New Vegas better than Fallout 3 was the writing, the content, the scale, it actually being a ******* ROLE-PLAYING GAME (you can get through it without killing anyone), and a gray moral area in almost everything you experience. It was more like a Fallout game than Fallout3 was, all thanks to Bethesda's childish writing and Todd's retarded notion that Fallout was all about "dark humor" when it was much more than just that.

New Vegas' main story wasn't all that great. It was cool and all in the beginning; trying to find the guy who tried to kill you, but it got dull pretty fast. Fallout 3's story was fantastic. It was emotional and suspenseful and I was hooked through the whole thing. New Vegas had better DLC's though.

Thank you, that's exactly how I felt. I just wasn't sure if my feelings were justified or not. Hell, I'd just been so disappointed in it I didn't even bother walking to the Hoover Dam and finishing everything. I'd heard about it, and all it was was another battle, not too much special.

What New Vegas lacked in the main story it made up for in the many different side-quests. I found that New Vegas had a lot more to offer than Fallout 3, many unique characters and monsters to meet and fight. One thing I learned a long time ago was that no matter how many times, or how long you played, you will never see EVERYTHING New Vegas has to offer. That's just my two cents. Also the climactic ending you're looking fore is in the Lonesome Road DLC

A lot of them can just be simple fetch-and-kill missions, but there's a lot of gems to be found; one such that sticks out are Boone's and Veronica's.

Boone's had a great little backstory to a rather quiet character, and gave you a kind of bond early on to the guy once he joins your party.

Veronica's, both about the Brotherhood shunning her and even hunting her at some points also made it interesting. It threw in some surprises here and there, and I thought they were genuine.

I think that's why these gems go so well in Fallout. You get used to doing the grind missions that you don't -expect- to stumble on something good. And when you do, you really learn to savor and enjoy it.